Cornelia Funke - Inkheart

Inkworld, book 1

“Rightly recommended for those who loved Harry Potter”

NO MAJOR SPOILERS

Inkheart had come up in one of our polls on site as a book to read if you liked Harry Potter, and then a week or so later someone said ‘You know the dad in that is a bookbinder who drives a campervan?’ and I was completely sold! I ordered the entire trilogy for a bargain price and while I haven’t yet read the second two, I absolutely loved Inkheart.

The book follows the story of Meggie and her father Mortimer and starts straight in the middle of the action, leaving you piece things together over the first few chapters. Meggie’s mum went missing when she was young, and now suddenly strange character start appearing and Mo, as Meggie calls her father, is clearly concerned.

I absolutely do not want to spoil any part of this magical tale for any of you, but what a lightly woven, truly enchanting tale it is. You almost expect the characters to leap off the page and come to life, anyone who’s read it will know exactly what I mean. The fantasy element of the book is absolutely amazing and the characters are full and complex. I held a special fondness for Meggie’s aunt, Elinor and I suspect any other book lover will agree. And while I’ve never cared for Tinkerbell in Barrie’s tale, she gets a pretty rough deal in Inkheart.

This book is quotable genius from start to finish, and while it’s quite clearly written for a younger audience, I thoroughly enjoyed it while my 12-year-old daughter has added it to her to read pile. I’m really looking forward to reading the next two books in the series and hope they offer the same magic and suspense as Inkheart.